Troy University Athletics
Troy University
South Alabama
Troy Dominates Jaguars, 94-70
1/15/2009 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
MOBILE, Ala. ? The Troy Trojans shot a blistering 50 percent from the field, including 53 percent from behind the arc cruising to a 94-70 win over in-state rival South Alabama in Sun Belt action at the Mitchell Center.
Troy (8-10, 3-3 SBC) jumped out to an 8-4 lead two minutes into the game behind a pair of three-pointers from Brandon Hazzard and Mike Vogler and never trailed as they picked up their first road victory of the season.
"South Alabama is a seasoned, veteran team that has been to the NCAA tournament and won the conference twice. I am proud of the fact that we executed as well as we did. We shot well, we rebounded well and we hustled. For us it was probably the best we could have played. It was a complete basketball game," head coach Don Maestri said.
The win was also just the second-ever victory for Troy over the Jaguars (10-7, 3-3 SBC), with both wins coming at the Mitchell Center.
Hazzard's second three-pointer gave the Trojans a nine-point advantage at 15-6 with 16:16 to go in the first half.
Kenny Ware gave Troy an eight point lead with a three and Travis Lee made it 11 with another deep one. The Trojans held a 27-16 advantage with 9:26 to go. Ware made it a career night as he finished with a career-best 20 points with six rebounds on six-of-eight shooting from behind the arc.
Ware kept it going with two more three-pointers and the Troy lead was 17 with 7:46 to go, 35-18.
After another Ware three, Ronald Douglas got two down low but Vogler answered back with a circus lay-up and a 44-22 Troy lead. Ware hit his first six three-pointers.
Hazzard nailed a three in transition to give his team a 25-point lead with just less than three minutes to go in the opening half, 47-22. Hazzard finished the game with 14 points, marking the seventh time in 10 games he has reached double-figures.
The Trojans shot 51 percent from the field in the first half, including hitting 10-of-17 three-point attempts in the opening frame of play.
Troy held USA's two all-conference players Tilford and Davis to four points and two points, respectively, in the first half.
Hazzard opened up the second half with a three on the right wing after Hazzard knocked the ball loose and forced a steal on defense in the first 10 seconds of the second half.
Ware's hot shooting continued as he hit his fifth three-pointer of the game on his first touch of the second half. After USA answered with two points, Hazzard found Jervis down low for a dunk and an 18-point lead, 59-41.
Ware hit another three, his sixth consecutive of the night, before missing on his seventh attempt. On Troy's next possession he sank a pair of free throws to give his team a 64-47 lead with 13:38 on the clock.
Lee and Delk hit back-to-back treys to give Troy a 24-point lead and Jervis got two off a no-look bounce pass from Antywan Jones to give the team its largest lead of the night at that point, 76-50.
Delk scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added six assists with three steals. Vogler also finished with an excellent all-around game tallying seven points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Travis Lee also found double-figures with 11 points.
Troy had stretched the lead up to 33 points before Tilford made an acrobatic reverse lay-up cutting it to 85-54 with eight minutes to go. Tilford, the leading scorer and three-point shooter in the Sun Belt, hit just one three in five attempts for 11 points.
Telfair added two free throws with 3:50 to go to keep Troy firmly in command with a 30-point lead, 90-60. Telfair a great night at the line, knocking down eight-of-10 attempts, a career-high.
Bryan Sherrer led South Alabama in scoring with 14 points on five-of-five shooting from the line.
The Trojans are in action next on Saturday afternoon when they face ULM in more Sun Belt action. The game can be heard on the Troy ISP Network and regionally on CSS, CTV and ESPN Full Court.
